Why Was a Foreign Company Chosen Over a Massachusetts-Based Business? Taxpayers Lose Nearly $500m Under this Insider Deal.

The Massachusetts Fiscal Alliance is calling on the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) to fully explain its opaque and questionable decision to award a 35-year, near $1 billion rest area redevelopment lease to Ireland-based Applegreen, a deal that bypassed Massachusetts-based Global Partners, despite Global’s significantly higher bid and deeper local roots. For the taxpayers, a higher bid means more money the state could collect.

“This process smells. A Massachusetts company offered to pay the state 50 percent more, yet Beacon Hill insiders still went with a foreign-owned company tied to a Wall Street private equity firm. Taxpayers deserve to know their thought process,” said Paul Diego Craney, Executive Director of the Massachusetts Fiscal Alliance.

According to the Boston Globe, MassDOT’s own board member, Quincy Mayor Tom Koch, expressed frustration at the secrecy, admitting he and other MassDOT board members have been kept in the dark ahead of today’s vote. The agency refused to release key information until the procurement was finalized, raising serious concerns about transparency and accountability in the use of public assets.

Global Partners, based in Waltham, pledged a deal that was 50% higher and promised to keep more revenue in Massachusetts. The company also partnered with the nonprofit CommonWealth Kitchen to feature local food vendors and small businesses at the plazas, a plan that would have strengthened regional economies across the state.

“MassDOT just passed over a community-driven proposal backed by a Massachusetts employer with a strong track record in favor of an out-of-state operation with no local ties. This is the kind of backroom decision-making that erodes public trust,” said Craney.

The 35-year lease affects 18 highway service plazas, including the majority along the Massachusetts Turnpike. Applegreen will replace Global and other local operators starting in 2026, promising $750 million in upgrades but paying substantially less rent back to the state than Global’s proposal.

“If the state is turning down hundreds of millions of dollars in potential public revenue, there had better be a very good reason and so far, we haven’t heard one. Before the MassDOT board votes to finalize this deal, they owe the public a full explanation. This contract was supposed to serve the people of Massachusetts, not well-connected corporate interests from overseas,” said Craney.

MassFiscal is urging state lawmakers, the Inspector General, and the Auditor to scrutinize the selection process and prevent the deal from moving forward without full disclosure and independent review.